Magic Academy Bans Harem

Chapter 315 The real you
night.

The goddess of bathing, crouching in the bushes outside Little Ritas's room, yawned wearily.

In the Elson mansion, the place where Little Ritas, the Bathing Goddess, and Millie live is located in a corner of the mansion, like a separate courtyard.

Including the small garden that was previously damaged and is currently under renovation, the fully equipped villa can operate independently most of the time.

In the past, the butler named Dino would be in charge of the courtyard, managing supplies, arranging servants and guards, and purchasing items according to Little Ritas's requests.

After Dino's tragic death, all matters were handled by Ritas Jr. alone during this period.

As a dark cloud dissipated from the sky, it showered down a sky full of starlight.

As night fell, a suspicious figure appeared in the somewhat desolate courtyard.

She was petite, but her every move was stealthy. Before long, she reached the main building of the villa, the one where Little Ritas lived. After looking around suspiciously, she opened a window and climbed inside.

It wasn't until the figure bumped into the window frame, causing quite a commotion, that the half-asleep Bath Goddess realized the "thief" had really arrived. She quickly called to Millie, who was keeping watch in another location, and tiptoed after him.

"I feel that it's quite different from what I imagined."

After climbing into the house through the window, Millie couldn't help but mutter to herself.

They're here today to catch that black mist bird. No matter how you look at it, that monster wouldn't have climbed through the window to attack Little Ritas. So, that figure seems more like a thief.

But who would break into Elson's mansion to steal things?
"Sh-!"

Millie shut her mouth at the goddess's command to silence her and began to follow in the dark room.

They were initially worried about getting lost, but soon realized they were overthinking it.

Because, in the quiet room, they heard a remarkably clear rustling sound. And the source of the sound was...
kitchen?

Millie, who was very familiar with the facilities in the villa, continued to follow the Bath Goddess with a strange expression.

Then, the two of them crouched by the door and cautiously peered inside.

The figure that had sneaked into Little Ritas's house was now tinkering with something in the kitchen's storage room.

"Blood?"

By the faint moonlight, the goddess of bathing trembled as she looked at the crimson blood flowing across the ground.

Could they be setting up some kind of curse or summoning array?
We can't let him succeed!
Millie frowned, gestured to the Bath Goddess, and then charged forward, swiftly pinning the thief to the ground. Behind her, the Bath Goddess, wielding a rope and roaring, pounced.

"Who? Who is it? What are you doing?!"

However, as they were apprehending the criminal, a very familiar voice rang out.

"Xia Luoluo?"

As the surrounding scenery gradually brightened, Millie and the Bathing Goddess belatedly realized that the person they had easily subdued and firmly bound was actually Charlotte.

"What are you doing?"

"What are you bastards doing! Let me go!"

In the kitchen of Little Ritas's house, Charlotte, who was crawling on the floor like a cicada pupa, shouted angrily at the two of them.

Millie then casually stuffed Charlotte's mouth shut.

"Millie?"

"Uh, she was too noisy, I couldn't help it."

Millie scratched her head, then took the bundle of cloth out again.
"It's almost midnight, don't be so loud. Please have some common sense, Xia Luoluo."

"Is it common sense to run into someone else's house and tie them up?!"

Charlotte shouted angrily.

It was only then that Millie realized something was amiss.

Why haven't Little Ritas come to check what's going on while they've been arguing for so long?

Rather, where does this surrounding light come from?

Turning her head, Millie realized that the mansion was engulfed in flames.
"Eh!?"

"Millie! Help me put out the fire—"

The crackling of the candles and Little Ritas's cries for help echoed simultaneously throughout the mansion.

A short time later.

With Millie's help, the fire was successfully brought under control, and only about one-fifth of the house was burned. Little Ritas reunited with the others in the courtyard.

"Xiao Li, why are you setting fire to your own house?"

Looking at the disheveled little Ritas, the goddess of bathing asked in confusion.

"How could we possibly pose a threat to any monsters that might attack if we didn't go this far? Fortunately, the exploding magic crystals weren't affected."

"You even planted a bomb!?"

The goddess of the bath looked on in disbelief.

Even if Little Ritas begs her in the future, she will never enter Little Ritas's house!

"Why are you making such a racket in someone else's house in the middle of the night?"

Little Ritas glanced at the Goddess of Bath with displeasure. The Goddess of Bath glanced at Millie, and Millie looked at Charlotte.

"It's all her fault."

"Hey!"

Charlotte, still bound, protested loudly.

"So, Xia Luoluo, tell me why you sneaked into my house in the middle of the night, tied yourself up, and set the house on fire."

"Aha!?"

Charlotte was furious when she heard Little Ritas trying to shift all the blame onto herself.

After some time had passed.

After being surrounded and interrogated by the three men, Xia Luoluo finally confessed.

"I...I think that Ritas was able to beat me today because of that magic. And you guys who learn magic have to cook, right? So I thought I'd secretly eat all those ingredients! That way you won't be able to learn magic, and Ritas will only be able to kneel down and beg for mercy from now on!"

The puddle on the ground that looked like blood was actually a few tomatoes that Xia Luoluo had lost her grip on.

"." "." "."

Xia Luoluo seemed to be serious, not joking. The three of them fell into a silent silence.

Millie even silently began to untie Charlotte's ties.

"It's fine for you to do stupid things, but can you please not do stupid things that are so easy to confuse?"

The goddess of bathing couldn't help but say.

"You...you actually call it stupid? It was so effective before, you know!"

Xia Luoluo retorted, clearly unconvinced.

"Before? So this isn't the first time you've come to Xiao Li's place to steal food?"

Even the Bathing Goddess, who is often questioned about what's going on in her head, is now starting to wonder how Xia Luoluo's brain works.

"Well, it doesn't matter anymore! It's too late to find out now anyway. I admit, I was the one who used to sneak into this yard at night to steal our food supplies. It's my fault that you didn't get breakfast, which is why you're so skinny and ugly now. You must hate me."

"." "."

Once again, Millie and the Goddess of Bath remained silent, turning to look at Little Ritas and asking in a hushed tone, "Do you hate her?" Little Ritas, with his eyes closed, unusually wore an expression that seemed to say, "How long am I supposed to keep up with this farce?"

"You're so hateful, Xia Luoluo!"

Little Ritas said helplessly.

"Good that you know how powerful that is! Don't be too arrogant in the future, Ritas. Otherwise... otherwise..."

"So you're going to steal his food supplies again?"

The goddess of bathing couldn't help but say in a sarcastic tone.

Even Xia Luoluo couldn't help but blush at this moment.

Just after the farce had unfolded, Xia Luoluo was cursing and preparing to leave.

Watching Xia Luoluo's retreating figure, the goddess of the bath suddenly lost in thought for a moment.

As long as Charlotte isn't having an episode, the relationship between the Elson siblings doesn't seem to be too bad.

Of course, it's not that great either.

Furthermore, although Charlotte seems to harbor deep resentment towards Ritas, she never says anything like she wants to drive him away or disapproves of him.

Even if there is dislike, it's the kind of dislike a younger sister has for her older brother.

Therefore, even if there are disputes or arguments, Xia Luoluo can always reappear in front of Xiao Litas as if nothing happened and she is completely at ease.
No, something just doesn't feel right.

"Xia Luoluo!"

"Ok?"

Xia Luoluo, who was about to leave, turned around after being called back.

Do you remember what happened at the training ground today?

The goddess of bathing asked directly.

Little Ritas, standing to the side, subconsciously frowned. However, he didn't stop the Bathing Goddess from doing anything that might touch a nerve with Charlotte.

"How could I forget that! Ugh—it still makes me angry just thinking about it! It was supposed to be a swordsmanship practice session, but that damned Ritas used magic to attack me!"

As she spoke, Charlotte grinned at Little Ritas.

"Then, do you remember what you said back then?"

"Huh? What did you say?"

When asked the question again, Xia Luoluo paused for a moment, looking at the Bathing Goddess with some confusion.
"Something like, 'Ritas, you're so despicable'?"

Hearing Charlotte's answer, the Bath Goddess and Millie exchanged a glance.

Sure enough, Xia Luoluo didn't remember the time when she seemed to have become a different person.

Then, the goddess of bathing inquired about the situation in the small garden. She received a similar answer.

Charlotte remembered going to see Ritas about the butler Dino. However, Ritas was so unyielding that she left in a huff.

"Why are you asking all this all of a sudden? It's so inexplicable. I'm going back to sleep if there's nothing wrong. I don't know why you set the house on fire, but you'll be in for a beating when someone finds out at dawn!"

Charlotte, who never misses a chance to provoke Ritas, finished speaking and prepared to leave once again.

It was at this moment that the goddess of bathing, who was still hesitating, inexplicably raised another question.

"'Find your true self.' Was it you, Xia Luoluo, who said those words to me?"

It can only be said that this was entirely a sudden inspiration from the goddess of bathing.

She didn't know what connection the voice that often bothered her in her dreams could have with Xia Luoluo. But analysis, speculation, and sorting things out were things the Bathing Goddess was truly bad at. So, she could only rely on this sudden surge of feeling.

"Huh? Did I say that to you? Why would I?"

Xia Luoluo suddenly stopped talking.

Her eyes instantly lost all their luster, and she looked like a manipulated puppet, her expression blank.

Seeing that Xia Luoluo had suddenly "stopped," the Bathing Goddess sensed something was wrong and gritted her teeth as she continued to ask.

"I want to find it too, but I really can't! So if you really want to, could you just tell me or give me a hint? Where exactly is the 'real you'?"

"."

With a blank stare and a cold expression, Xia Luoluo turned her head and stared at the goddess of the bath for a moment.

The goddess of the bath sincerely hoped that this wasn't some GM or something similar who was helpless against players who had given up on solving the puzzle, and that she wasn't showing her a helpless expression.

After a while, Xia Luoluo slowly turned her head and faced another direction.

The Bathing Goddess, Millie, and Little Ritas were also looking in that direction.
Then, they saw the silhouette of a white, long-beaked bird perched on a branch of a tree not far away, gazing at them.

Although the long-beaked bird looked different from usual, and its eyes were a yellowish-brown, they could still recognize it as the pet that Charlotte had been keeping.

At the same time, the three seemed to recall the fear brought to them by the black mist bird that attacked them two months ago. They couldn't help but swallow slightly.

The actual time was only a dozen seconds, but it felt incredibly long to the three of them.

In the end, the white bird on the branch simply flapped its wings and flew into the distance. At the same time, Xia Luoluo, who had sneezed forcefully, returned to normal.

"Tsk, why is it suddenly so cold? Autumn has really arrived."

Just like before, as if nothing had happened, Xia Luoluo simply huddled up, hugged her shoulders, and shivered as she walked alone towards her residence.

So, what exactly happened?

After Xia Luoluo walked away, the confused goddess of the bath asked the other two.

But Millie and Little Ritas just shook their heads, completely bewildered.

However, one thing is perhaps certain.

That is, it was precisely because Charlotte happened to go to Little Ritas's house tonight and staged a farce.

Therefore, the three of them were able to avoid being attacked by the black mist bird and once again safely pass through a night that should have been filled with tragedy.

He pondered what Charlotte's abnormal state meant. Was it merely a hint that they were supposed to be attacked tonight? Or was it an answer to a question, indicating that the "real me" was that bird or something similar?

As the sky outside gradually brightened, the goddess of bathing finally fell asleep that night.

In my dream, it sounded like someone was sighing softly.

"You finally remembered."

This sigh, carrying the consciousness of the goddess of bathing, suddenly entered a layer of mist in her memory.

As the mist gradually dissipated, the goddess of bathing's vision gradually settled on a moving carriage.

In the carriage heading to the west, Miriam and Ritas sat facing each other by the left window.

Beside Ritas and Miriam, there was a figure shrouded in black mist.

"So, why are you here? After the academy exchange meeting, shouldn't you have returned to the Western Region with Baiano Academy?"

"I was left behind."

"Ok?"

"I was left behind!"

The black mist dissipated.

Beside Ritas was a furious Charlotte.

(End of this chapter)